Building Brands

Like it or not, brand names matter.  This is as true for books and authors as it is for cola drinks and franchise restaurants.  And we aren't immune from this reality out here on the New Pulp Frontier.


I should probably clarify what I mean by “brand” in the literary context; it's a very fluid concept. For authors, this may involve serial characters--most of today's commercially successful genre writers achieved their success with a series, not standalone novels. Or it may be a signature style of writing--you know what you're going to get in a Stephen King or Tom Clancy novel, and often that is enough to build anticipation for the next book months in advance, even if little is known about the story. For publishers, the brand might be a particular genre specialty, or ideally, a recognizable level of quality. I can recall, as a teenager, realizing that the science-fiction and fantasy titles released by one particular publishing imprint (I won't say which, but it's still around) were consistently better than all the others, and it wasn't long before that little trademark on a book's spine was a primary selling point for me.


This idea of literary branding, really came into its own during the era of classic pulp fiction. A mainstay of pulp was the “house writer” model of production. Most of us know that Kenneth Robeson, the “author” of Doc Savage and The Avenger, was not in fact a real person. Nearly all of the Doc Savage novels were penned by Lester Dent, while The Avenger series was written by Paul Ernst. Very few of the pulp authors ever got any credit in their day. Publishers were selling a brand--not just the serial heroes, but also the name awareness of the pseudonymous author. House writers also allowed publishers to churn out content according to a production schedule.


This concept of using house writers endures today; a notable example is Gold Eagle/Worldwide which publishes the long running Mack Bolan/Executioner series, as well as Deathlands, Rogue Angel and others. Even bestselling heavyweights like Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy and James Patterson have effectively become house written pseudonyms--brand names. The value of this model of publishing is undeniable; readers pay attention to their favorite authors, even when they know full well that “Alex Archer” might be one of several different ghost writers, or that Clive Cussler is only peripherally involved in all the novels that now prominently bear his name.


These name brands did not of course simply spring into existence.Both in the classic era of pulp and today, the authors and publishers cultivated interest over a long period of time. Some have been more successful than others. We're more aware of the success stories simply because the failures slipped into ignominy before ever registering on our consciousness. That's not to say that the authors involved did anything wrong.  Publishing is a business, and sometimes decisions are made based purely on an economic bottom line. The same thing happens in television programming all the time; that's why your favorite TV series gets cancelled, just when it's starting to get interesting.

Generally speaking, creating this kind of brand awareness involves publicizing and marketing, as well as having a reliable network of distribution. Consider the aforementioned Rogue Angel series, which hit the shelves in 2006. I picked up a copy of the first Rogue Angel book in the post exchange at Kandahar Airfield, while deployed to Afghanistan--now that's distribution! It was the cover that caught my eye. The artwork got my attention and the synopsis of the story hooked me. Knowing that this would be merely the first of a long-running series was also a selling point. Today, the Rogue Angel series is still going strong.


Now, consider another pulp-inspired series that is not quite such a success story: the Gabriel Hunt adventures. Launched in 2009 and created by Charles Ardai (editor in chief of the Hard Case Crime imprint at Dorchester and creative consultant to the SyFy network's Haven series) the Gabriel Hunt stories follow the adventures of a modern day free-lance archaeologist, cut from the same cloth as Indiana Jones and Doc Savage.The books, ostensibly written by Gabriel Hunt himself, were “told to” such noteworthy talent as Ardai, James Reasoner and Raymond Benson, and featured beautiful pulp-style cover art by Glen Orbik. These stories should have been brain-candy for pulp-fans, but as things stand right now, the future for Gabriel Hunt looks grim. It's not that there's anything wrong with the Gabriel Hunt stories; they just didn't catch on with enough people to justify the effort of keeping the series alive. And they came along just as the publisher decided to phase out mass-market paperback production (which resulted in the sixth book of the series being delayed several months before finally appearing in print-on-demand trade paperback and ebook formats only).


New Pulp--what I have called 'digital pulp'--provides both its creators and readers with opportunities to get around some of the limiting factors that bedeviled the Gabriel Hunt books, but that doesn't mean that there aren't some valuable lessons to be learned.  Even at the level of the small indie press or the self-published author going it alone, the importance of building your brand cannot be overstated.


There are already quite a few authors and publishers in New Pulp who have successfully built their brand, and this is great news for readers and for up-and-coming authors. Even better, though, is the fact that the innovations which have made New Pulp possible will also ensure that these authors and publishers will have a chance to cultivate a long-term relationship with readers that simply isn't possible in traditional publishing.

If you'll indulge me in a little shameless self-promotion, I offer my pulp-inspired series The Adventures of Dodge Dalton as an exercise in brand building.  The first book in this series was published in the summer of 2010.  It wasn't a runaway success by any means, but it did sell and I got enough positive feedback from readers to know that I was doing something right, so I forged ahead with the second book, with similar results.  For people who stumble across Dodge, there are now two books in the series, and I have every reason to believe that this pattern will repeat and add momentum when the third book is released. That would never happen at a traditional publisher.

The lesson here, particularly for New Pulp creators, is to take the long range view. Figure out what you want your brand to be, and then stick with it. This applies at all levels of the creative process: developing characters that readers will want to visit again and again, finding a publisher who can give you a memorable product (cover art, layout, book design) and access to a broad reading audience, and most importantly, finding a way to get the word out.


That last bit--publicity and marketing--is the most important part of building brand awareness, and the part that most authors really hate.  But in the new landscape of publishing, all authors at every level must utilize all available tools for generating interest in their work and creating a relationship with readers.  In next week's column, I'll explore some of the most effective ways to build brand awareness using social media.

Sean Ellis is the author of the Nick Kismet thrillers, The Adventures of Dodge Dalton, and other adventure and pulp novels. He is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Policy from Oregon State University. Sean is also a member of the International Thriller Writers organization. He currently resides in Arizona, where he divides his time between writing, adventure sports, and trying to figure out how to save the world. Visit Sean's website: http://seanellisthrillers.webs.com